Private equity is capital that is not listed on a public exchange. Private equity is composed of funds and investors that directly invest in private companies, or that engage in buyouts of public companies, resulting in the delisting of public equity. Institutional and retail investors provide the capital for private equity, and the capital can be utilized to fund new technology, make acquisitions, expand working capital, and to bolster and solidify a balance sheet.

Private equity investment comes primarily from institutional investors and accredited investors, who can dedicate substantial sums of money for extended time periods. In most cases, considerably long holding periods are often required for private equity investments in order to ensure a turnaround for distressed companies or to enable liquidity events such as an initial public offering (IPO) or a sale to a public company.

Returns on private equity investments are created through one or a combination of three factors that include: debt repayment or cash accumulation through cash flows from operations, operational improvements that increase earnings over the life of the investment and multiple expansion, selling the business for a higher price than was originally paid. A key component of private equity as an asset class for institutional investors is that investments are typically realized after some period of time, which will vary depending on the investment strategy. Private equity investments are typically realized through one of the following avenues:

• Initial public offering (IPO) – shares of the company are offered to the public, typically providing a partial immediate realization to the financial sponsor as well as a public market into which it can later sell additional shares;
• Merger or acquisition – the company is sold for either cash or shares in another company;
• Recapitalization – cash is distributed to the shareholders (in this case the financial sponsor) and its private equity funds either from cash flow generated by the company or through raising debt or other securities to fund the distribution.

Alternative Investment Fund or AIF means any fund established or incorporated in India which is a privately pooled investment vehicle which collects funds from sophisticated investors, whether Indian or foreign, for investing it in accordance with a defined investment policy for the benefit of its investors.

Categories of Alternative Investment Fund ( AIF)

Category I: AIFs which invest in start-up or early stage ventures or social ventures or SMEs or infrastructure or other sectors or areas which the government or regulators consider as socially or economically desirable and shall include venture capital funds, SME Funds, social venture funds, infrastructure funds and such other Alternative Investment Funds as may be specified .

Category II :  AIFs which do not undertake leverage or borrowing other than to meet day-to-day operational requirements   Various types of funds such as real estate funds, private equity funds (PE funds), funds for distressed assets, etc. are registered as Category II AIFs.

Category III: AIFs which employ diverse or complex trading strategies and may employ leverage including through investment in listed or unlisted derivatives. Various types of funds such as hedge funds, PIPE Funds, etc. are registered as Category III AIFs.

Tenure and Listing of Alternative Investment Fund (AIF)

For AIF scheme launched under category I & II shall be closed ended, tenure shall be determined at the time of application and minimum period will be 3 year.

Category III Alternative Investment Fund may be open ended or closed ended.

Extension of closed ended  Alternative Investment Fund may be may be permitted up to 2 year subject to approval two-thirds of unit holder.

Units of closed ended Alternative Investment Fund may be listed on stock exchange subject to a minimum tradable lot of 1 crore rupees.

Both real estate funds and real estate investment trusts (REITs) are used when diversifying a long-term investment portfolio. A real estate fund is a type of mutual fund that primarily focuses on investing in securities offered by public real estate companies. The majority of real estate funds are invested in commercial and corporate properties, although they also may include investments in raw land, apartments complexes and agricultural space. This type of fund can invest in properties directly or indirectly through REITs.

A REIT is a corporation, trust or association that owns or finances income-producing real estate. Their mode of operation is similar to that of a mutual fund where investors combine their capital to buy a share of commercial real estate and then earn income from their shares. REITs taxable income is paid out as dividends to their shareholders, who then pay income tax on the dividends.

There are three main types or REITs, equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. Equity REITs own, operate and trade hard real estate assets. Mortgage REITs trade commercial and residential mortgages. Hybrid REITs are a combination of equity and mortgage REITs. The majority of revenue associated with equity REITs comes from real estate property rent, while the revenue associated with mortgage REITs is generated from interest through mortgage loans.

Structured Product, also known as a market-linked investment, is a pre-packaged investment strategy based on a single security, a basket of securities, options, indices, commodities, debt issuance or foreign currencies, and to a lesser extent, derivatives. The variety of products just described is demonstrative of the fact that there is no single, uniform definition of a structured product. A feature of some structured products is a "principal guarantee" function, which offers protection of principal if held to maturity. 

structured products were created to meet specific needs that cannot be met from the standardized financial instruments available in the markets. Structured products can be used as an alternative to a direct investment, as part of the asset allocation process to reduce risk exposure of a portfolio, or to utilize the current market trend.

Structured products aspire to provide investors with highly targeted investments tied to their specific risk profiles, return requirements and market expectations.

Benefits of Structured Product

• Principal protection (depending on the type of structured product).
• Tax-efficient access to fully taxable investments.
• Enhanced returns within an investment (depending on the type of structured product).
• Reduced volatility (or risk) within an investment (depending on the type of structured product).
• Ability to earn a positive return in low-yield or flat equity market environments.